Dallas, Fort Worth take aim at boarding home abuses
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) — Boarding homes in Dallas and Fort Worth are coming under new scrutiny, but city leaders say stopping the abuse their elderly and disabled tenants face may take a more collaborative approach.
In the span of a year, the Fort Worth Police Department reports it received more than 230 calls to a group of 14 boarding homes.
They documented padlocked refrigerators and pantries, an empty fire extinguisher, hallways blocked with clutter, and bedrooms crowded with several beds.
In one case, they wrote they found 12 people living in a three bedroom house, each paying $940 per month in rent.
"I think you'd have to be a very cold individual to walk into that room and see how these people are living and think that's OK," said Fort Worth City Council Member Elizabeth Beck.
Boarding homes are defined by law as those offering housing and additional services, such as meals or transportation, to groups of three or more unrelated people—often members of vulnerable populations.
City staff estimates there may be anywhere between 75 to 130 in Fort Worth.
Beck helped push through a new ordinance last week to regulate them for the first time, requiring they register with the city and submit to regular inspections.
"If the residents at these boarding homes aren't getting the proper care they need—whether it be food or rides to medical appointments, they're not able to manage their mental health in a productive way," she said. That, she says, results in increased calls to first responders.
Fort Worth's new ordinance is based on one passed by Houston, and Beck hopes other cities in North Texas can mirror it.
"It's a regional issue and we want to make sure that as we regulate them here in Fort Worth, it doesn't push them out to smaller cities in the Metroplex," she said.
The City of Dallas already regulates boarding homes, but reports it receives between 15 to 20 complaints a week. Many, staff say, involve the living conditions there. The code compliance department has asked council pass an ordinance requiring a higher standard of operators.
"Basically slumlords who are continuing to get away with slaps on the wrist," said council member Carolyn King-Arnold during a committee meeting Tuesday.
The committee voted to recommend council pass the proposed changes mandating the city's 180 boarding homes post notice of tenants' rights and offer access to stoves, microwaves, and suitably sized refrigerators.
King-Arnold says it can be difficult to address boarding homes because of the overlapping government oversight.
"I think the better fix is that we come to an agreement—federal, state and city—about how to better serve individuals who have certain needs," she said.